News:
The Canadian government has presented a ten-year strategic plan for the Arctic that involves a larger military presence.
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– There is growing international interest in the Arctic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government said in a strategy document published on Tuesday.
Both governmental and non-governmental actors are contributing to increasing competition in the Arctic, the document states. These players want to take advantage of the region's strategic location and vast natural resources in the Arctic.
An important goal of the government is to strengthen Canada's military presence in the Arctic and northern regions. The country will continue to exercise sovereignty in the Northwest Passage – considered by the US and many other countries to be international waters.
The Trudeau government notes that climate change and new technologies have made the Arctic more accessible. Ship traffic through the Canadian part of the Arctic increased in 2017 by 22 percent compared to the previous year.
2017 was also the year when a foreign cruise ship sailed the entire Northwest Passage for the first time.
Climate change is occurring more rapidly in the Arctic than in any other region of the world, and sea ice is gradually shrinking due to global warming.
Melting ice among other things makes it easier to extract oil in Arctic sea areas – which in turn contributes to greater climate emissions when oil is burned. In Norway, the government chose to open new areas in the Barents Sea to oil drilling.
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